Well here it is, and I'd like to know what you think. Be honest!

This one was done first and I hadn't worked out how to make the hair better:


In these ones I used the same shading as the one above, but worked on the hair more:

How did you do that technique? I like it, not very stylised or cartoony but good for detail.

Well it's done on photoshop. For the hair I use a brush that is like a cluster of dots, and just drag it in the direction the hair would grow in. For the clothes I used the sponge texture. Then the shading was just done with the brush tool and two darker shades of whatever colour I was going over. :)

It looks good, but I think you could make it a little more distinct with stronger colors :] It looks a little washed out on my screen and it would have been easy to overlook.

Here's another example:

sort of reminds me of my old coloring methods.

Really? You don't mind do you?

Here's how my shading looks now, also it's more example of my newer drawing style:

I'll be honest and say it looks like you're a beginner colorist. :] That's not a bad thing or an insult- the coloring looks okay and does the job, and follows basic lighting direction, but it's clear that you don't have a whole lot of confidence doing it. It looks like you're using a fairly large airbrush and faint colors.

Don't be afraid to use sharp edges or strong/contrasting colors. You're just using a slightly darker shade and equally shading all areas that are affected by the lightsource.

Soft edges (like you've got) denote genty rounded curves. Hard edges (which you don't have) denote more dramatic changes in the curvature of whatever you're shading. Same thing with faint, low-contrast shading vs strong, dark shading. So with all soft shading and light shades, it gives an impression of marshmallowness. Use darker colors where there are deeper curves or where something lies in shadow (like the side of his nose)- USE the shading to help define the shapes of his face. Try using a slightly different color to make the lighting more dramatic- purples and blues are good with skin tones.

Just as an experiment, try re-doing that picture with lots of dark tones and sharp shapes, I promise you will see a huge difference.

Is this better? Mind you, I had no clue how to shade his hair lol XD

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I've had a busy couple of days. :]

Yeah that is what I meant- notice how the stronger shades and the color change the tone of the picture? The first one you did, he was just a guy with dark hair. The second one he's a guy with a light shining on him at nighttime, and the straight purple makes him look pale so he's sort of vampire-looking. :] you've created a whole different mood with it. Don't be afraid to do things like that. Just be conscious of what effect the colors you're using are making. (Like what you've done is sort of a spooky nighttime thing.) The stronger dark areas give his face a little more definition and makes it seem less 'flat.'

Hair is tricky to shade, you'll just have to keep at it til you find something you're happy with. :] I can hardly see anything on my monitor though- just a hint of blue in a couple spots- because it doesn't differentiate dark tones so well. Most people's monitors are all slightly different, and may have poor contrast etc- so that's an argument for using darker shading and stuff like you have. Black hair can actually be really shiny so it might be okay to use stronger colors there too?

You know lol it's actually a really really good thing he looks vampiric, because he is a vampire :) I see what you mean about different moods, so I'll have to have a mess around with that. And as for the hair, I'll just keep trying lol. Thanks for your help :)

Here's some shading I'm quite happy with, what do you guys think?

The shading isn't bad but In the first picture you put up, what is wrong with his arms?
The side veiw of your latest looks extremely well to me.

Thanks :)
Yeah he first picture is pretty bad lol, I don't know what I was thinking when I drew his arms. And his legs for that matter lol. I've gotten better at anatomy since then :) Or at least I hope I have!